Jalapeño cheddar drop biscuits are quick and easy to make with just a few ingredients and ready in only 25 minutes! No kneading or rolling needed. These biscuits go great with butter, jam or ham for breakfast and are delicious alongside soups and chili.
I am mostly recovered from our Vegas weekend to see Lady Gaga perform.
It wasn't fun going back to work, and I still have whatever this respiratory infection is, but I'm back in the groove. And just so thankful we got to have that experience. Both of her shows (the main one and the jazz/piano one) were so good. Her voice is incredible and she's an amazing performer on stage. Plus, I love her message of kindness and acceptance and love.
But now I gotta get ready because it's the end of school. J has his preschool graduation tonight and I expect to have ALL the feelings and ALL the tears for that one.
We've had one or both kids at this preschool for 8 years now and I can't believe we're saying goodbye.
I also can't believe my baby boy is going to be going to kindergarten. How did this happen?!
Also, M's last day of 2nd grade is tomorrow. She's switching schools next year, so that's a bittersweet moment too.
Sigh... I'm gonna stop thinking about it before I start tearing up and instead tell you some happy thoughts about this delicious recipe.
Today’s jalapeño cheddar drop biscuits are my all-time favorite.
(I do love my Parmesan herb drop biscuits too, but more for special occasions than for everyday.)
Today’s cheesy biscuits are ones I make ALL the time though. And sadly, I just never think to stop and take photos.
But I finally made it happen because you seriously NEED this deliciousness in your life!
They are perfectly fluffy and light and airy on the inside and they have a really great crust on the bottom.
They are speckled with chopped jalapeño peppers and loaded with just the right amount of butter and cheddar cheese!
My husband has eaten SIX of these in one sitting. Six!!
And my kiddos love them too. They don’t have a ton of spiciness to them, so they’re just right for all types.
And trust me, if you love biscuits but don’t love how much work they can be, drop biscuits are going to be your new best friend. ❤️
Zero intimidation here, my friends.
You just mix together the dry ingredients, cut in the butter (which I’m going to explain in case that sounds scary) and then you stir in the milk and your flavor add-ins.
Bam, your batter is done.
Now, do we have to put it somewhere to sit and rest and rise and all that mess? Nope.
And are we going to roll this out?
Do we have to flour our kitchen counter and make a total mess?
Do we have to knead the bread and hope we somehow guess just when to stop?
Nope! There is no kneading, no rolling, no mess.
Just place dollops of that beautiful butter-, jalapeño- and cheddar-speckled batter onto your baking sheet and you are ready to go.
No waiting, no fussing, just beautiful biscuits ready in under 25 minutes!
Biscuits every damn day!
OK, I’ve got some notes, tips and substitutions for you on these easy biscuits coming up now. Just trying to be helpful.
If you’d rather just skip to the recipe, simply scroll right on through the rest of the text. The recipe card is near the bottom of the page, above the comments section.
Notes on jalapeño cheddar drop biscuits:
- I generally use white whole wheat flour for a whole wheat biscuit, but regular all-purpose flour works just as well here too.
- Skim milk, 2% or whole milk are all fine here. You could also try these with buttermilk.
- A milk substitute should work too, just make sure it’s not flavored or sweetened.
- The jalapeño adds a little flavor but this is not spicy as written. If you want to kick up the heat a little, you can add an extra jalapeño or just leave in some of the seeds and membranes.
- You could also add ¼ teaspoon of cayenne for some extra spiciness.
- I use white cheddar cheese but regular is fine. I recommend a sharp cheddar for the best flavor.
No jalapeño? No worries. When I don't have one, I usually just pivot a bit and make these cheddar garlic drop biscuits. Just as easy and just as delicious!
As for storing these…
Extra biscuits can be stored in a covered container at room temperature for 2-3 days and in the fridge for an additional 2-3 days.
These biscuits also freeze well if you want to save some for another time. Just put them in a plastic ziptop bag (that’s labeled!) and keep them in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Defrost in the fridge overnight or pop into the microwave if you’re in a hurry. Or if you just need a biscuit fix pronto. I get it, no judgement here.
OK, and now the only step in this recipe that may seem scary - cutting in the butter.
It’s really very easy once you’ve done it but here’s a couple tips if you are a first timer.
How to cut in butter:
- Cutting In butter just means you are incorporating cold butter chunks into the batter so that they break down but do not melt.
- Having some little lumps of butter throughout the dough is what makes the biscuits flaky.
- Your butter should be very cold. I like to cut it into small ¼-inch cubes and then put it back in the refrigerator while I’m preparing the dough. This helps keep the butter pieces cold.
- I also like cutting it that small because then I don’t have to work as hard to cut it into the flour mixture. #lazylikethat
- You can cut butter into flour using a pastry cutter or with two butter knives.
I have my grandmother’s pastry cutter but one like this would be perfect and it’s affordable.
If you don’t want to buy one, you can use two regular knives. Place the cold butter chunks in the bowl with the flour mixture. Hold one knife in each hand and just go to town cutting across the butter down into the flour so that you’re breaking up the butter pieces slightly and getting them mixed in. It should only take a couple minutes.
Your butter mixture should end up resembling small peas.
Finally, one key tip on making biscuits:
Be sure you don’t overwork the dough so they don’t get too tough before you bake them. You don’t need to stir the batter like crazy. You want it to just come together.
And there are so many ways you can use and enjoy these biscuits too.
Which is probably why I make them so often!
Ways to enjoy drop biscuits:
- Eat for breakfast with a smear of butter or jam
- Make a breakfast sandwich and stuff the biscuits with country ham, bacon, eggs, etc.
- Enjoy at lunch with some deli ham or turkey and cheese, mustard or mayo for a mini sandwich
- Use as a side bread, along with some butter, for soups (like creamy tomato soup, one of our faves)
- Use to eat with and dip into chili and chowders
You are now ready to rock some super simple, super quick biscuit making.
I hope you love these as much as we do!
Enjoy!
XO,
Kathryn
P.S. These biscuits go great with slow cooker chicken chili, southwest turkey chili and easy white turkey chili. Or with the best game day chili!
Jalapeño cheddar drop biscuits
Ingredients
- 2 cups white whole wheat flour (or use regular all-purpose flour)
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, cold and cut into small cubes
- 1 ½ cup milk of choice (I use skim but 2% or whole are fine too)
- 1 large jalapeño (seeds and membranes removed), finely diced
- 1 heaping cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray and set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt and garlic powder.
- Cut in butter using a pastry cutter or two knives, until the mixture resembles small peas. (See the post above for detailed instructions on how to do this if it's your first time.)
- Stir in the milk, jalapeño and cheddar cheese until the batter is just combined. (Don’t overmix it.)
- Drop large spoonfuls of batter onto the baking sheet to form 12 roughly even biscuits.
- Bake at 400 for 12-15 minutes until golden brown and cooked through. Serve warm and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Kaitlyn Mayo
I made this with Bob's redmill gluten free flour and my dough came out very runny 🙁
Kathryn Doherty
Hi Kaitlyn! I've never tried these with gluten-free flour, so I'm not sure what adjustments might be needed to the recipe. Sorry to hear they didn't work well for you.